Sports

Upset Gophers fans need to look at date, it's only Thanksgiving

A disgruntled Gophers fan wrote me an e-mail and I answered it, basically urging him/her to wait at least until the season plays out before asking for a coaching change. Patience only makes sense.

By Roman Augustoviz

November 25, 2009 at 5:24AM

There is unrest among the Gopher faithful. Just check the comments on the web sites devoted to Gopher hockey such as gopherpucklive.com. People are suggesting Don Lucia be fired because the Gophers are struggling for a third consecutive season.

In 2007-08, the first season I cover the team, the Gophers finished seventh in the WCHA standings, beat Minnesota State Mankato in a stirring series in which every game went to OT, took second in the Final Five and then lost to eventual NCAA champion Boston College in their first NCAA tournament game on BC turf, Worchester, Mass.

In 2008-09, the Gophers finished fifth in the WCHA regular-season race, swept St. Cloud State in the first round of the WCHA playoffs, but lost to UMD 2-1 in the Final Five play-in game. Then they had to sit around and wait for the NCAA selection committee to decide who was in their 16-team field. Minnesota was left out for the first time in nine years.

In 2009-10, the present season, the Gophers are off to a 4-7-1 start. They rest alone in seventh place in the WCHA. The pollsters have forgotten them.

I have seen every game and have two comments to make. Six of their 12 games have come against North Dakota, Denver and Bemidji State,. three teams ranked in the top six in the nation. The Gophers are 1-4-1 against that trio.

Also remember, last season the Gophers after 11 games were 7-0-4 and ranked No. 1 in the country. They proved they were not that good later in the season and this team, I think, will prove they are not as bad as their present record indicates.

But I want to share an e-mail I recieved from one really discontented Gopher fan. This person had a name and place of residence with his e-mail, but I am leaving it out because I didn't ask that person's permission to publish it on my blog.

I thought it was too good not to, though. So I run it here without a name and give it my own title:

DISGRUNTLED EVEN WITH THE POPCORN

Can someone explain to me why Kevin Wehrs is playing DI hockey for any team, let alone the best program in the country? And, is it finally time for "The Don" to move on? It's a little stupid to come across as arrogant when the program is in disarray. Mike Guentzel (by the way a UM letterwinner, unlike The Don) would make a great replacement. I do have to hand it to The Don, however. After watching UM hockey since the early 60's and having season tickets since 198X (trying to protect identity -- ra), I really don't care if I see a game, let alone go to one (it was brilliant of the athletic department to finally offer reserved parking to all season ticket holders – I guess Maturi is doing something other than perusing the police blotter) And finally, can you please start a campaign to bring back fresh popcorn to Williams and Mariucci? We haven't had decent popcorn since they moved and Williams was remodeled. Dear Disgruntled even with the popcorn, Thanks for the e-mail. I appreciate hearing what the masses out there are thinking. I'll take your questions one at a time. Wehrs, a junior defenseman, was not playing much early in the season. He is in the lineup now partly because he has to be. Until freshman Nick Leddy comes back from a broken jaw, the team has only six defensemen. Wehrs, though, had maybe his best game this season on Saturday. He got the first assist on the first goal and scored the second goal on a one-timer. Maybe he will offer a bit of offense yet. The Gophers, obviously, are not the best program in the country right now. But nobody is going to even consider firing The Don until at least the season is over. If they finish strong, win the Final Five, reach the Frozen Four, the bad start will be forgotten. If they miss the NCAA tournament for the second year in a row -- with the West Regional at the X in March -- the clamor for someone else will be a lot louder than it is now and you can join in. But play the season out first. The Don still has two seasons left on his contract after this one at about $250,000 per year. Not sure if there is a buyout clause which would cost the U less. So talk of coaches to replace him is premature. Mike Guentzel would proably jump at the chance, though. He said he wanted to be a head college coach when he left after the 2007-08 season. As for the popcorn, I bought it once. Paid $4, $4.59 for one box. It was terrible. Stale. I ate most of it cause it cost so much, but will never buy another box unless I get a sample taste. So yes, I will sign a petition but I can't organize the petition drive. I have to watch the game and the replays after scores so I can write intelligent game stories. Sorry. Roman Augustoviz Strib Gophers hockey writer P.S. Some of my colleagues at work accuse me of being a curse to the team. I'm not going to Michigan this weekend, so that will be a good test if bad karma follows me. I sure hope not.